The German Government Knows This

Please read this letter to President Bush from the brother of Robert Dean Stethem, whose murderer was just released from German prison.

Mr. President,

I would like to provide you with an explanation as to why Muhammed Ali Hammadi's recent release by Germany, and your Administration's lack of any attempt to prevent it, is so upsetting to our family and to Americans everywhere. (...)

You have rightly said, "Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done." You have truly said that "We are in a fight for our principles, and our first responsibility is to live by them." Robert lived by them. Robert also died by them. The motto of the USS SSTETHEM (DDG-63), named in Robert's honor, is "Steadfast and Courageous." I hope that his example, and the example of other heroes like him can inspire you to understand why allowing Germany to release Hammadi was a wrong. Justice was not done, Robert was not honored and Americans are not safer by allowing Hammadi to return to Lebanon and Hezbollah.

You know this, we know this and the American people know this.

The Stethem family

And the German government knows this.

(Hat tip Joe)

Comments

[Atreides]

The silence of the US government regarding the Stethem/Hammadi/Osthoff situation is much more annoying than the actions of Berlin. This is appalling that the sitting President with his WOT propaganda would let something like this pass without so much of a grunt. Perhaps George does not want this to cloud the upcoming visit of Fr. Merkel, and it is true that she is not in control of German Foreign Policy.

Still, this is a stinging slap to the Stethem family and America at large and these other elected officials in DC are not even rattling cages( I reckon they are more concerned where Judge Alito stands on the abortion issue at the moment, the idiots)where it needs to be regarding this affair.

[Oh Eric!]

steppendaft, I'm inclined to cut Bush some slack on this. The WOT is one thing that he takes very seriously, and he has no control over the German government. Sometimes, in order to be most effective, you must keep what you're doing secret, as illustrated recently by the NSA leaks. That's typical of Bush; he's not a populist that always has to claim credit.

It is, however, one more example of the decline of Western Civilization in Europe.

[neocon]

wait until you see some interview with that woman, susanne osthoff
when i saw her giving an interview, i thought i would throw up
she was kinda excited about having been kidnapped. she didn't say anything wrong about the kidnappers, on the contrary, "it was an interesting experience", "they treated us good", etc.
just like the foreign secretary of state who was kidnapped two weeks ago and who was quite impressed with the kidnappers, either.
plus, she didn't want to leave irak after having been "rescued"

i don't know what to think of these people...
it's either they want to emerge "cool" and pretend everything was ok, or
they don't want to "stir" the spirits in germany (as there are a lot of turks in germany, quite silly to think that way, but, who knows!?),or
they really want to convince us of the fact that to be kidnapped is a real blessing

[grlzjustwant2havefun]

I can't believe you haven't heard this yet, LGF posted this yesterday:

Via LGF:

Susanne Osthoff, the ex-hostage who exhibited an amazing sympathy for her captors and showed up on German TV wearing a burqa, was apparently a spy for German intelligence. (Hat tip: Killian Bundy.)....

...But both German sources said the real deal involving Osthoff’s release had been the payment of a ransom to her terrorist captors by the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel. The ransom and Hamadi’s release could well constitute a double embarrassment for Merkel on her scheduled “maiden” visit to Washington next week. Washington has always opposed pay ransom money on the grounds that it encourages more kidnapping.....

[joe]

Sandy,
Old news.
This was in the same article that talked about moving up the "parole" hearing for the murderer of a US service member that the Merkel government released.

The new item is about the importance of the terrorists she coordinated meeting with the Germans for.

Makes you wonder what other support the Germans are really providing to those who want to do harm to the US.

But as I said The Frau is very clever. She is going to play both sides of this street as long as she can possibly get away with it.

Call it the new THIRD WAY.

There is still more to this story than we currently know

[FranzisM]

So the idiocy of Susanne Osthoff was scripted not improvised? And I thought it would only unmask herself not her superiors... so the BND under Ernst Uhrlau is just as much a Hisballah whore as it was under August Hanning?!?

Before the whacky Schildbürger in the BND miscalculated that the threat of Hisballah could be dealt with by the Saint Florian principle I did not even know of Robert Stethem and his heroic resistance against Hisballah terrorists who tried to turn him into a tool for more killing...

If Angela Merkel said that her intelligence was wrong she wouldn't be the first one to make such a statement for good reasons.

[joe]

FranZ,

I do not think The Frau has used that. I believe she "firmly" stated Germany would not be blackmailed.

I do believe Old Martin made a statement that Germany did not trade a murderer of a US service member or pay a ranson for dear Susan's freedom.

Given that Germany did not pay a ranson nor did it trade a murderer of a US service member for dear Susan, you should apply to the FM for a special grant of 5 million. It is my impression you should get one no questions asked.

[FranzisM]

@joe - I am not a noble Islamic savage, so the Bavarian secret agents with the baggy suitcases will not come to make me such an offer. I would have to reject it anyways, since I do not work for money, unless the job allows me to make quid pro quo assignments, which is not the case in the conduct of the negotiorum gestio.

So it is not just a rogue judge who is revolting against Angela Merkel, but our spies and possibly the diplomats as well, whereever the buck stops. They are squandering resources trying to set Germany on a course into the abyss of Hisb'Allah, but Angela Merkel does not follow, even though she has to be more tight-lipped than you would like because a German replay of the Plame affair would be the last thing she needs. Getting an agenda-driven intelligence community back on the leash of legitimate government is not an easy task, though a possible one.

[grlzjustwant2havefun]

We don't need no stinkin' Kyoto:

We got Algae!

http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0111/p01s03-sten.html

[Davod]

Didn't his guy serve a relatively long sentence given that he was in Germany.

[John A]

Dr. Stefan Prystawik, the U.S. publicist also writing for German native speakers, got it in German on his website www.stefan-prystawik.de

This is one of the few German language websites featuring essential articles that aren’t published anywhere in German media. Any friends in Germany – let them know!